The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected an outside linebacker in the fourth round of the NFL Draft who could pay dividends from his juggling in high school.
That’s rookie outside linebacker David Walker, who played three sports in high school — football, basketball, and soccer. Tampa Bay’s No. 121 pick out of Central Arkansas believes the skills gained from that helped significantly in becoming an NFL linebacker.
“Soccer, man, soccer is footwork — you’ve got to have some good footwork to play the position that I play,” Walker told reporters on April 26. “Basketball, it’s just the movement of the game — crossing over, doing the one-two…Football is basketball on grass. Being able to play those sports and being able to see how I do those things on the field, as well, it helped me a lot.”
Walker went on to have a stellar career at Central Arkansas amid 191 tackles, 31 sacks, six forced fumbles, and eight pass deflections in 34 games. He also had 63 tackles for loss along the way.
“Summer after summer, that’s the thing me and my outside linebacker coach would work on — the small details, the things that people miss,” Walker said about his tackles for loss total. “I feel like refining those tools every year is helping me every year. I improved every year. I’m going to keep doing that.”
Similarly, Walker put in the work to improve his ability to force fumbles. He tallied four in his senior season alone.
“Our coach, every year, we worked ball drills every day in practice,” Walker said. “Seeing that, going into the game, he was like, ‘These guys are holding the ball a little loose — I want you guys to go in there and punch it out.’ We’d practice that every day leading up to that game, and I had three in one game. It was crazy.”
David Walker Stood Out Amid Coming From an FCS School
GettyDavid Walker impressed at the NFL Combine in February.
Those kinds of things helped him stand out in the pre-draft process though he came from an FCS school. He also made the most of his Senior Bowl invitation when he went up against FBS players from Power Five conferences.
“It was an honor just to get invited to play against the top talent in the world. Just going there, leading up to that week, I just wanted to show the world that I belong, ” Walker said. “Just because of the division that I’m in, and the people that I play… man, the FCS has some good talent too.”
“Just going there and just showing that I belong, it was a good feeling,” Walker said. “It just boosted my confidence showing that I can compete with these guys and that I can play at the next level. I took a lot from there and I learned a lot from the NFL coaches as well.”
David Walker Models Himself After 3 NFL Linebackers
Walker said he models his game after current and former NFL linebackers Brandon Graham, Elvis Dumervil, and James Harrison. With the Buccaneers, he will get to learn from veterans Haason Reddick and Yaya Diaby.
“It’s exciting,” Walker said, “Haason Reddick, he’s had crazy years, and Yaya, he’s just a stud, so being able to go into that room and just learn from those guys and get under their wing and see how they cooperate and how they lead themselves on the field and off the field. I feel like it’s going to be big for my game.”
For Walker it isn’t just about getting to the quarterback or ball carrier. He says his faith drives him.
“I’m big on my faith. Seeing how the Lord has provided and brought me this far, it’s exciting,” Walker said.
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